Gate 39 Media, like many companies, began with specific ideals in mind. Those ideals and our business focus evolved over time, but we could always draw a straight line between those ideals and the results we deliver in the framework of an optimized customer experience.
We have learned that the surest way to reach our business goals—and those of our customers—is to have a deep understanding of what their customers want. Technology is helpful, for sure, but without that insight, without empathy, it’s little more than a robot.
Today’s Customer Experience is All About Emotional Connection
The world of commercial enterprise has truly come full circle. Successful businesses have always put their customers at the heart and soul of everything they do, but digitization knocked those ideas off course for a while.
As tech evolved and became more ubiquitous, most companies embraced all the different and novel ways to delight their customers and derive deeper insights from data collected in the process.
Business models and focus changed dramatically as a result. Imagine thinking you knew what your customers wanted and then realizing the truth was actually something you’d never considered!
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Automation enabled growth at scale. New efficiencies fueled innovation. And the best part? It wasn’t just guesswork anymore. Real-time insights gleaned from actual customer interactions, engagements, and social proof informed the way forward.
In a way, it was like time travel. For the first time in decades, the customer had a voice.
Of course, not all companies embraced the data. Those that did, however, were able to take their efforts to new heights. Organizations that used that data to put the customer front and center advanced leaps and bounds ahead of the rest (Amazon being the most notable example), and the laggards were forced to take notice.
Now, more than ever before, empathy is a critical aspect of good CX, especially since there are a lot of great companies out there doing great things. In other words, if you fail to make a meaningful connection with your customer or if your CX does not live up to their expectations, it’s all too easy to click away and move on.
But rather than throwing more technology at it, we prefer to take a more human approach. After all, if it weren’t for humans, what would we be doing, exactly?
If Loyalty Is the Goal, Empathy Is the Game
Go figure; if you can tap into what people really want, they will always be loyal to you.
That’s what customer experience is all about. It’s that emotional connection you make with a brand when you realize, “they get me. They know what I need, what I want.”
Forging those positive connections means putting yourself in the customer’s shoes. You need to be able to relate to their motivations, aspirations, and desires. Creating a meaningful experience is always the goal, and while that’s something technology can support, it’s the humans behind the tech that makes the difference.
From the very start, our approach has always been about the customer experience. It’s nothing new for us—great CX ties directly into our core values of diversity, teamwork, learning, and empathy.
- Diversity. If you want the best possible product, you need to invite every voice to the table. We know that we can’t deliver a sustainable product unless every race, gender, age, and cultural background is represented.
- Teamwork. We are better together. Individually, we have a lot to offer; united, we are a force of nature. By working as a team, we bring 360˚ vision to every project.
- Learning. Technology (and the world at large) evolves quickly. We have only to look at the past couple of years to understand how agility adds value. Our team is always searching for new ways of looking at old problems, ensuring the result lives up to its promise.
- Empathy. We are all human, so we must approach our work from a human perspective. No matter how much technology is involved in what we do, the humans behind it (and in front of it) are what make it exceptional.
How Our Core Values Relate to Customer Experience CX
Today’s most successful businesses are remarkably customer-centric. They know that the better the CX is, the happier their customers will be. Because of this, they will constantly strive to reduce whatever friction exists between the customer and their goal.
No matter how impressive an algorithm, web app, or AI can be, it means nothing if it doesn’t answer the customer’s intent. We aim to remove friction, not create it. We approach each client and use case with an open mind, developing tailored solutions that answer immediate questions and set the stage for future growth.
That’s been our mantra from the start—well before technology had even a fraction of the capabilities it does today. Our culture is laser-focused on our core values, and that’s what makes us stronger. Shared purpose, commitment, respect, and an endlessly curious approach to what we do result in a product we are proud to stand behind.
By combining our core values with proven processes, we are able to deliver custom solutions that solve human needs.
And like great CX, we are constantly evolving and challenging the status quo because we know that no state remains static for long. Complacency has no place in our world. Much like a shark in the deepest ocean, if we’re not swimming, we’re dead in the water. We ride with the tide, always searching for that monster wave, and when we find it, we’re in the tube, all the way to the shore.
Stewardship
Stewardship is a word that comes to mind. You hear winegrowers talking about it in relation to the journey from grape to glass. In their parlance, it’s called terroir. The concept is that you leverage the gifts that the climate, soil, and location provide and make sure the crop has the best possible upbringing and development. The result is unique, a product that speaks of the land as much as it does the people involved with getting it into the bottle and onto your table.
But how does that apply to what we do? Glad you asked.
Whereas many agencies will impose their vision onto yours, we first seek to understand the client and their goals as well as their end-user. We then design and build a solution that answers those needs.
In business, as in life, cookie-cutter solutions don’t often work. They might solve problems in the short term, but you’ll almost always have to pull it down and start from scratch at some point. Sustainable solutions are always better because they grow and evolve with you, wherever your path may lead.
We bring a lot of heart and soul into what we do. We don’t like to call it work; it’s more of a mission, as it combines elements of creativity, strategy, process, and timing, resulting in measurable success.
We are a full-service marketing agency serving the financial and agriculture industries with marketing, technology, CRM automation, and support. We’d love to hear about your company’s needs and talk to you about custom solutions designed to help you achieve your business goals.
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